Asian Addicts Anonymous

Meh. It’s not a rushed ending, but nor is it wholly satisfying. I kind of come away from this drama not entirely unhappy and demanding the 11 hours I spent watching it back, but I wonder why I spent 11 hours watching it for it to end here at this point. It just seems…unfinished somehow. And the way they wrapped up Tachibana and Choko? Not feeling it.

Episode 11: The Prince I Choose

Sakura is not sure just what to do. Should she stay and manage the salon in Japan or should she go with Tachibana to New York? This is the subject of conversation for Miki, Shima, and Ken as well. They talk about Sakura’s feelings, how unfair it will be to go with Tachibana if she has lingering feelings for Hiroto, etc. Sakura overhears all of this and she apologizes to her friends promising to sort things out soon.

We then cut to a scene where Hiroto waits outside of Momo’s brother’s work. He has his dead eyes which turn to crazy eyes. Not too shabby acting there. He says he was okay with whatever happened to himself as he knows he wasn’t fair in his relationship with Momo, however, why did the man go after Sakura especially when she has nothing to do with him anymore? Hiroto pushes the man up against the wall and threatens him…which then breaks down into a plea not to sully his beloved older woman. He still has crazy eyes, though.

The girls go to a bridal boutique to pick out a dress for Miki. While Miki tries on dresses, the other girls talk about their relationships and Shima urges Sakura to go with Tachibana as its not bad being pampered once in a while. Sakura considers this and also says that she only has very bad elementary English skills. The conversation is then stopped when Miki steps out. The other two exclaim at how well Miki looks in spite of her age. Shima is all jealous and wonders when it will be her turn (and when she can finally do the deed with her new boyfriend). Miki and her then laugh at their inside joke about “long foreplay” that has Sakura baffled. As the girls leave the wedding shop, Shima’s new boyfriend Kondo comes to pick her up. He’s adorkable as always and you can see Shima’s influence in his new style. Dang for a man with a geeky outer appearance…he’s quite toned (did I glimpse a six pack?).

Sakura gets home and Tachibana pops his head out to greet her. She then heads over to his place for a drink. There Tachibana confesses that he knew for awhile that Choko had Hiroto approach Sakura because of their close relationship. Tachibana apologizes for this. Sakura tells him that he shouldn’t blame himself and then scolds him for not telling her earlier. How could he when he knew she was in love with Hiroto? Sakura then says that she needs more time to think about going to New York with him. Ah, she also asks for his help in choosing her wedding attire. She already knows she will wear the shoes he bought…but what about a dress? Tachibana agrees to introduce her to a shop.

Hiroto is having a hard time at practice since he’s unable to focus. Enter Tachibana. The older man confesses that he’s trying to take Sakura away with him. Hiroto, unhappy, will not try to snatch her back as he has made his decision to stay by Choko’s side. Tachibana lectures him that pity is NOT what will heal Choko’s brokenness. Be that as it may, Hiroto feels that its better for him to at least be there by her side until she can move on and find a new love. Sigh. That means Choko will never grow up. He enables her bad attitude and craziness by coddling her out of his guilt.

And speaking of our crazy Choko, she runs into Sakura on the street and Sakura chases her down when she runs away. Sakura isn’t harboring any ill feelings as that is just not Sakura’s style. Instead she pleads with Choko to let poor Hiroto go. Yes, Choko is in pain, but does she not know how much pain her older brother is in as well? How much he blames himself and tortures himself? In fact, he’s more than paid for what he did accidentally to her as children. Sakura then says that considering the bond between the siblings, Choko should want her brother happy, not miserable with her.

Tachibana is at SOBAR when Choko comes in. She tells him about her conversation with Sakura. Didn’t Sakura think that by telling her all that it would make her want to do the exact opposite? Tachibana smiles—that’s Sakura for you—she is very innocent and always wants to believe the best. Choko then complains about how hurtful love is and how she does not wish to fall in love again. Tachibana then thanks her for loving him. Her love gave him confidence. This really seems to touch the young woman deeply and she cries. Well…I wouldn’t call Choko’s love confidence boosting, but downright scary, of course he doesn’t know just how deep and dangerous her obsession initially was. Him thanking her also kind of seems out of character for him.

An unrequited love or a love that doesn’t bear fruit is still love.

It turns out the shop is run by Tachibana’s mother! Mrs. Tachibana is surprised to hear that our hairdresser has no fashion sense. If that is the case, then how can she leave the shop to Sakura. Awww. She’s already regarding her as a daughter-in-law. The two then go out to SOBAR afterwards and Ken is beside himself to be able to see Mrs. Tachibana. The older woman reveals to Sakura that Tachibana told her what happened. She admits surprise, but she would love it if Sakura chose Tachibana and you know it. She then gives a lecture about how Ken and Sakura are in their 40s which means their parents are in their 70s…they should go visit more often. LOL. Random.

Starting over since it’s your life that’s fine.

Sakura then heads over to Tachibana’s place with a treat. He doesn’t answer so she lets herself in and finds him asleep on the couch. She then sees that he has been busy making English-Japanese flashcards. Sakura starts reading through them and seeing Tachibana’s affection and how well he knows her really touches her. He’s getting to women emotionally today for some reason. Sakura tears up a bit and goes to cover him with a blanket. Tachibana jumps up surprised. She hands over the sushi she brought for him and then demands he get the drinks and soy sauce, etc. Nice. She does get a glimpse at his stomach, too. Feeling a little interested? Anywho, she talks to him about the flashcards and then Tachibana mocks her very poor English skills earning him a slap to his forehead. These two will most likely never change. I almost forgot that she agrees to go with him to New York thanks to those flashcards.

We then cut to a scene where our male buddies hang out at SOBAR and wait for Tachibana. Kohei tells Ken and Tomonori that he and Miki now are doing it daily. Good for him to have his problem gone. I’m sure Miki is happy as well. Kohei is all for Tachibana and Sakura getting together. Enter Tachibana who is scolded for being late to his own farewell party. Tachibana asks after the wedding preparations and Kohei complains about all the work that goes into it. He then apologizes and says he’s not trying to turn the other 3 off from marriage. Tachibana then asks why he and Miki considered marriage. I had to laugh at that question. Even Kohei said it was a strange sense of déjà vu. Of course he didn’t explain why that was to Tachibana. He then says again that they simply wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Ken says that is the important part and then zooms in on poor Tomonori. LOL. Looks like our gay bar owner has set his sights on Tomonori as the man for him, which doesn’t make Tomonori happy.

The women are all gathered as well. They make old man and old woman jokes. Shima talks about her dreams for her future with Kondo and Sakura tells her two friends they had better come out to visit her in New York. Shima and Miki first say it will be impossible, but then at Sakura’s hurt look they breakdown laughing saying it is only a joke. Even if they are far apart, the sisterhood lives on and they will scrimp and save to visit. We then cut to a scene where Kohei gets home and immediately takes Miki to bed. Meanwhile, Shima gets the drunk Sakura to the foot of the stairs leading to the apartment complex when Tachibana shows up. Sakura is drunk out of her mind so Tachibana has Shima help Sakura up onto his back and he piggybacks his beloved Kin-chan to her apartment where she calls out to Hiroto in her drunken slumber just at the moment where Tachibana was leaning in to kiss her. Ouch.

The day of the wedding dawns and the salon is busy with family and friends of the Takenouchis. Sakura tells everyone to be careful and ends up tripping and falling herself. Tachibana scolds her and the workers says that no matter where Sakura and Tachibana are, their relationship will never change. Sakura then rushes out to do Miki’s and Shima’s hair and makeup. When she’s done she leaves and we learn that today is also the day of Hiroto’s big match. Shima and Miki know that while she’s trying to be cheerful, Sakura is worried about him.

Sakura goes back to the salon to have her hair and makeup done. Tachibana is doing it! It was a very nice scene and I think really showed off Rintaro’s love for Sakura. Too bad. Too bad. His loves are never meant to work out, you know? You can see his expression tinged with sadness while he makes Sakura pretty for the wedding.

Choko asks her father to put her in touch with the plastic surgeon to fix her back. Will wonders never cease. This makes both her mom and dad happy. She then tells her father how much Hiroto really did want to work at the company as she even took him suit shopping for the interview. She then pleads with her parents to go out and support Hiroto as this will be his last match.

The wedding gets underway and it’s Kohei instead of Miki blubbering like an idiot all the way down the aisle. LOL. I love how their roles are often reversed at times. The wedding goes down without a single hitch and at the reception, Shima apologizes for everything. Then comes the time to catch the bouquet. Who will the lucky girl be? The desperate Shima? The conflicted Sakura? LOL. Neither! Miki throws the bouquet straight to Ken! He is surprised at this, but it does make him happy. Sakura and Shima can’t complain since Ken is basically one of them. Ken then goes and pulls Tomonori too him and the younger man even gets a kiss on his cheek (and maybe even his lips) from Ken. Omo. Oh, and you should see Kondo’s transformation! What a hunk!

Sakura rushes off to get a camera to take pictures when Tachibana rushes up and says there has been an accident at Hiroto’s meet. We got these scenes interspersed with the wedding ones. All of his family came to cheer him on making the boy happy and we see him do well only to fall. When Sakura ignores this at first, Tachibana yells at her and she takes off running. I thought being that Hiroto was hurt, she’d be running to a hospital. Nope. Not Sakura. She runs to the tourney grounds and sees Hiroto all fine and stretching out. Say what? Sakura then knows that Tachibana has tricked her. When Hiroto complains about being unmotivated to compete, Sakura chucks his ring at him and tells him to keep chasing after what he loves before turning and running away. No, he doesn’t chase after her. Okay, I lied, he does go after her, but when he doesn’t see her, he stops and stares at the ring. He then goes out to perform and stares at it one more time. He smiles. Looks like his inspiration has been found and he does a great job without making any mistakes. I love that upside flip they have his stuntman do, it’s so cool. Anywho.

Sakura is rushing to the bus station where she sees Tachibana leaving without her. He basically says that she should stay in Japan. He also then says he never talked about dating or living together in New York. Who would be able to stand her? Sheesh. What a load of garbage. So typical. I have no idea, but I’m somewhat reminded of Heaven’s Coins 3 where our rich bad boy says one thing with his mouth, but another with his hands. His mouth says to come with him while his hands bids the girl farewell. Here…Tachibana is lying about not wanting her to come with him so he can let her be with the one she truly loves. The two say their goodbyes and part ways and Tachibana wishes her happiness.

We end with Hiroto turning around as he leaves the tourney and seeing Sakura with her hair down in her red dress carrying Tachibana’s shoes. So…we get him professing that although he lied, he truly loves her, yada yada yada. Sakura pretends like she is still going to New York and cannot believe a word he says. When Hiroto learns that she is staying, he then calls her a liar. Great. The two liars can now be together. Hiroto happily slips the diamond back on her hand and they two hug and … that’s where this show ends!!!!

It just doesn’t seem right. Not at all. It wasn’t rushed by any means as I didn’t  feel rushed but I felt so unsatisfied even though I wanted Sakura and Hiroto together.

Thanks to all who followed me through this drama and left comments!